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Skilled labor for our future: Adauto

Ray Adauto, Guest columnist
Published 8:04 p.m. MT June 17, 2017

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Alexander Acosta is President Trump's nominee for secretary of Labor after Trump's previous nominee, Andrew Puzder, withdrew. Acosta previously served as assistant attorney general during the President George W. Bush administration.
USA TODAY NETWORK

On June 12, Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta told the country that President Donald Trump has instructed him to begin work on increasing the workforce development programs.

President Trump has told Secretary Acosta that he will be working with Ivanka Trump as the commitment from the White House has top priority.

The fact is that there are literally millions of jobs available across the country that need to be filled, unfortunately many with unavailable skill sets. The home construction business is one of those industries that has spent billions of dollars in training but still is falling short on skilled labor that is needed.

In El Paso the El Paso Association of Builders has sent a clear message to our legislative members of the Texas House and Senate as well as local leaders. We need to train our future workforce.

In meetings in Austin in February, our association asked the El Paso delegation to provide funding for some very basic needs in getting high school students trained for available jobs. We asked for increased funding for vocational training; funding for transportation for students to and from that training; and for extending the student liability coverage to include work site training.

We told the delegation that it is impossible to train just on computers or whiteboards because students need on site “hammer time.” These funding processes will allow students to gain important training leading to jobs immediately out of high school or allow them to have on job training as they seek additional education.

The statistics that the National Association of Home Builders presented to Congress clearly show that not all high school students are ready for four years of college but could instead find good-paying jobs in the construction trades.

The Texas Department of Transportation expansion of I-10 and Loop 375, the start of construction projects from the Ysleta School District and El Paso Independent School District, the Downtown trolley project, Sun Metro projects and private sector jobs mean needs are greater than available workers. There is a stiff competition between government and private sector for skilled labor.

In today’s market, the statistics tell us that the average age for a master electrician is 56 years old. That has serious consequences for housing in the next 20 years as it takes years of apprenticeship to acquire the master level.

Same thing with carpenters, plumbers, HVAC, stone masons, and every other skilled position. We are at a critical time when the demand is large but the supply is thin.

Locally, the EPAB is partnering with the Home Builders Institute from Washington, D.C., to help in the training and transition of service men and women transitioning from military life to civilian life by providing training for civilian jobs with emphasis in construction skills.

Hundreds of soldiers come out of Fort Bliss each year hoping for a new future. Our joint venture with HBI is one step to ensure they do and to help the shortage of skilled workers with great work ethic. For our members and the local construction industry, this partnership will benefit all of us.

El Paso is no different than Albuquerque, Tucson, Dallas, Houston, or the oil field towns surrounding us. Those current students can find a good job at good wages if they have a skill.

The effort being proposed by the White House, the Texas Legislature, Texas Workforce Solutions and the private sector is vital to national security, infrastructure and business markets. It’s time for more joint government/private sector joint ventures, none more important than getting our future generations ready for a world looking to them to fill jobs.

Ray Adauto is executive vice president of the El Paso Association of Builders. He can be reached at ray@elpasobuilders.com , or 915-778-5387.